The present invention generally relates to a steam-cooling circuit in a gas turbine and particularly relates to pressure recovery in a spent cooling steam return passage in the steam-cooling circuit of a gas turbine for improving cooling system efficiency. The present invention also relates to pressure recovery in the spent cooling steam return passage of a gas turbine employed in a combined cycle system for improving the performance of the system.
In an advanced gas turbine design, at least certain of the rotating parts carried by the rotor, for example, the first and second-stage buckets, are steam-cooled. Minimization of the pressure drop in the turbine rotor steam cooling circuit is essential to the performance of the design. All components of the steam circuit are therefore designed for minimum pressure drop. In the advanced gas turbine design, a bore tube assembly is provided in which coaxial tubes define cooling steam supply and return passages. The cooling steam supply passage comprises an annular passage about the return passage for supplying cooling steam through a plurality of radially outwardly extending tubes for transmission axially along the rim of the rotor to the first and second-stage buckets. Return of the spent cooling steam from the buckets is provided by a plurality of axially extending circumferentially spaced passages along the rim of the rotor which communicate with the axial return passage via a plurality of radially inwardly extending return tubes. Thus, cooling steam enters the bore tube assembly from an upstream static supply manifold and leaves the rotor exiting the spent cooling steam return passage via a downstream static pipe. The diameter of the static pipe is significantly larger than the return passage in the bore tube assembly. Sudden expansion, however, from the bore tube return passage diameter to the diameter of the larger pipe disadvantageously creates a significant pressure loss.
It will also be appreciated that the advanced gas turbine design may be used in, although is not exclusively for, a combined cycle system. In a combined cycle system, exhaust gases from a gas turbine are used to heat steam in a heat recovery steam generator and which steam is supplied to a steam turbine, typically including high, intermediate and low pressure turbines wherein the gas and steam turbines are coupled on a common shaft or on different shafts to drive one or more generators for the generation of electricity. The cooling steam for the rotating parts of the gas turbine may be supplied from the exhaust of the high pressure steam turbine. The spent cooling steam from the gas turbine is combined with hot reheat steam from the heat recovery steam generator for use in driving the intermediate pressure steam turbine. Accordingly, there is a need for a reduction in the pressure drop in the steam-cooling circuit for the gas turbine.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a diffuser is provided in the return spent cooling steam passage to reduce the pressure drop and hence recover at least in part some of the axial velocity head in the bore tube assembly through a gradual expansion of the spent cooling steam. The gradual expansion is achieved by providing a diffuser as part of the rotating tube defining the spent cooling steam return passage. The rotating diffuser is located just upstream of the static pipe which receives the spent cooling steam and directs that flow to the intermediate pressure steam turbine in the combined cycle system. That is, the rotating diffuser increases in cross-sectional area in a downstream direction, hence reducing the pressure drop. Given the limited axial length of the bore tube assembly within which the area ratio must be extant, a flow separation or undesirable flow instabilities may occur if the full area ratio is used in the available axial length. Accordingly, the diffuser is preferably cropped in that it does not expand the exit steam to a cross-sectional area corresponding to the cross-sectional area of the static pipe receiving the spent returning cooling steam. Thus, the diffuser expands the steam gradually to an area slightly less than the diameter of the static pipe, followed by a sudden expansion further expanding the steam to the pipe diameter. It will be appreciated that by reducing the pressure drop in the cooling steam return passage, the high pressure steam turbine is enabled to operate at a higher pressure ratio, i.e., a greater expansion of the steam and the high pressure steam turbine is achieved, improving cycle efficiency.
In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided in a combined cycle system having a gas turbine including rotating steam-cooled parts, a steam turbine, and a heat recovery steam generator in heat transfer relation with hot exhaust gases of the gas turbine for heating steam for flow to the steam turbine, a steam supply conduit for flowing steam exhausted from the steam turbine to the gas turbine for cooling the rotating parts and a return conduit for flowing spent cooling steam from the gas turbine to the steam turbine, a diffuser in the return conduit for reducing pressure drop and increasing combined cycle efficiency.
In a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided in a gas turbine having a rotor rotatable about an axis and carrying steam-cooled parts, a bore tube assembly forming part of the rotor, comprising cooling steam supply and spent cooling steam return passages concentrically disposed about the axis with the supply passage forming an annular passage about the return passage and separated therefrom by a rotatable bore tube defining the return passage, the bore tube including a diffuser having an upstream cross-sectional area less than a downstream cross-sectional area thereof for recovering axial velocity head in the return tube through expansion of the returning spent cooling steam.
In a still further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided in a combined cycle system having a gas turbine including rotating steam-cooled parts, high and intermediate pressure steam turbines, and a heat recovery steam generator in heat transfer relation with hot exhaust gases from the gas turbine for heating steam for flow to the high pressure and intermediate pressure steam turbines, the gas turbine including a rotor rotatable about an axis and having a bore tube assembly including cooling steam supply and spent cooling steam return passages concentrically disposed about the axis with the supply passage forming an annular passage about the return passage and separated therefrom by a bore tube defining the return passage and rotatable with the rotor about the axis, a method of increasing combined cycle efficiency including expanding the returning spent cooling steam along the return passage by disposing a diffuser in the return passage with an upstream cross-sectional area less than a downstream cross-sectional area thereof.